


Papa, Can You Hear Me?

by Ponytail_Goddess



Series: My Brother's Keeper [2]
Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, F/M, Family, Gen, Lost elfling, Songfic, Teen Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29098785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ponytail_Goddess/pseuds/Ponytail_Goddess
Summary: Haldir is out late training for the position of marchwarden and does not return home in time to tuck his younger brother Orophin into bed. Due to a misunderstanding, the elfling sets out on a journey to find Haldir, but ends up in a scary situation (Sequel to My Brother's Keeper).
Relationships: Rúmil/Original Female Character
Series: My Brother's Keeper [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2114643
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	1. Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, welcome to "Papa, Can You Hear Me," part two of the My Brother's Keeper series. After hearing that many people were disappointed about the shortness of My Brother's Keeper in 2007, I thought about the storyline I had created and decided it had a lot of potential. Therefore, I started to make a continuation to My Brother's Keeper. The first chapter of this was posted in 2007, but I finished the remainder of the fanfic in 2020. I hope to eventually write a sequel to this as well, ending it as a trilogy. These stories tell the history of the Lorien brothers before Lord of the Rings, but after their parents died (which is not a Tolkien thing, but part of the storyline that I have created here and tends to be a normal part of Haldir fandom). There are three parts to this fic, plus an epilogue. Please enjoy my work!
> 
> *I did take some of the song lyrics out of the fanfic to try and comply with AO3's songfic policy.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises. I also do not own the song Papa, Can You Hear Me? from the movie Yentl, originally performed by Barbara Streisand. This story was inspired Charlotte Church's remake, which I also do not own. I am a huge fan though (and no, even the Deadpool movie could not ruin it for me)!
> 
> Note: In this fic, I have made 50 the age that elves arrive at their majority. This makes Rumil about the equivalent of a 17 year old by human standards and Orophin around five or six by human standards, though he is rather smart for his age, even by the standards of the Eldar.

**Papa, Can You Hear Me?**

_By: Ponytail Goddess_

Chapter 1: Alone

A great golden light swept through the main room of an adequately-sized talan, lighting up even the darkest corners with the flickering glow of candlelight. With all of the candles and oil lamps lit, the room was invitingly illuminated, the light showing through the ceiling, which was partially open, being composed of elegantly-carved wooden, leafy vines that crisscrossed and curved around the ceiling in a natural way. In between the vines were fitted panels of glass that kept the rain from entering the room, but allowed the sun and moon to shine in at other times.

This main room was far from being sparsely furnished. In the far left corner was a huge, wooden weaponry cabinet, the front carved with a delicate leaf pattern, closed and locked for safety. This was next to a large opening to the outside, which sported a large veranda for looking out into the city below. The right wall housed two doorways, one being a large hallway that led to the bedrooms, the other leading to a small kitchenette. Between these two doorways was a large painting of a garden in the moonlight, with two Eldarin lovers sitting on a bench, holding hands. Beneath this was an end table that was covered in a white, hand-woven lace doily, on top of which were a few lonely trinkets, once the treasures of the elleth who had lived in the home no more than a year ago.

However, in the center of the room was the main and most important piece of the room, the ornate table that was held up by wooden vines, spiraling up from the floor, they crawled up the bottom of the table and hung off the edges ever-so-slightly in certain areas. This was surrounded by five chairs, all sitting up on the same wooden vine design as the table. Though only three of these five chairs seated an elf, the table was still seating the most company it had seen in over a year.

Rumil sighed as he watched his two brothers finish up their dinner of vegetables in a light sauce and homemade bread. The day had went abnormally well up until this point. Haldir had actually spent time with Orophin, rather than ignoring him. This had not happened since before their adar and naneth had passed into the halls of Mandos, which made it quite a momentous occasion for all.

Orophin was certainly taking advantage of it. Having a whole year to make up for, he was chattering away to Haldir with an unmatchable fervor. Though Haldir had put up with it all morning before he went to train for his up-and-coming marchwarden test, it was quite obvious that he was growing weary from putting forth so much effort into his family, as he was not used to doing such in the past.

From what Rumil could gather from Haldir's face, he was growing quite depressed. Rumil had caught him staring at the elaborate china cabinet, where their naneth's beautiful china was gathering dust, as nobody wanted to touch it, for fear of breaking the priceless antiques within. Naneth had been the only person who touched the cabinet; she only took out the good china when…

When the whole family was there for dinner.

 _"Indeed,"_ Rumil thought as he stared at his older brother, who was clearly no longer listening to Orophin's prattle, _"He has yet to make peace with it…"_

Honestly, Rumil had thought of this earlier in the night. It was their first real family dinner since the incident and it was tradition to get out the good china when the whole family was together, but it just had not seemed right without naneth there and he could not bring himself to open the cabinet. The unspoken rule was still there: only naneth opened the china cabinet. Without her and ada there, using the good china just seemed wrong.

"Haldir!"

Both Rumil and Haldir jumped as their youngest brother yelped for Haldir, now standing up on his chair and yanking on Haldir's sleeve to get his attention.

"Will you take me back to the garden again tomorrow? I want to dig up more worms, just like we did today!" Orophin said very loudly, clearly excited about spending more time with Haldir.

Rumil groaned at this. Already, a stack of heavily soiled clothing was strewn across the hallway, waiting to be washed. Though Rumil knew that Orophin was quite fond of insects, he had not been willing to take him into the Lady's own personal garden to dig up worms. It was too much of a mess to deal with! However, little Orophin had gotten Haldir to smile and participate in the great adventure this morning, which was highly unusual. Any smiles from Haldir were treasured greatly by his brothers, as they were few and far between.

After asking permission, Haldir had led Orophin to a large patch of dirt in the garden where nothing had been planted yet, and getting on their hands and knees, the two had burrowed deep into the dirt while Rumil watched them pulling out worms and examining them closely.

Indeed, it was a sweet memory. Though Rumil knew that Haldir had tried to hide his affection for his little brother, it had shown today when he had let the little elfling hold his hand while they tromped back to their talan, heavily caked with dirt and mud.

A small, sad smile appeared on Haldir's lips as he was clearly thinking about the adventure that they had enjoyed today. "I do not know if I can tomorrow brother, but we will go again. I promise." He said softly, patting Orophin's chair to signal him to sit back down.

"Haldir," Rumil said quietly, "If you want to go and train right now, Orophin and I can take care of the dishes."

Haldir now turned his head from the china cabinet to look at Rumil wearily, raising and eyebrow in question of the proposal. "Are you that anxious to get rid of me brother?"

"No brother, you misinterpret my words. I was simply thinking that you look like you could use a little fresh air." Rumil replied as he stood up and started to collect the dirty dishes from the table.

Haldir sighed and paused for a moment. "Perhaps you are right brother. I think I might take a small walk to clear my head." He finally replied, getting up from the table slowly, only to have two little arms latch onto his leg.

"Can I come with you, big brother?" Orophin asked with a large grin, clearly excited at the notion, as he was speaking quite quickly and loudly. "We could catch fireflies and-"

"No Orophin," Rumil said in the best authoritative voice he could muster, "It is late and Haldir needs to rest while he is home. He does not need to be running around and catching bugs when he is tired. Besides, it is nearly your bedtime, young one."

"Aww…" Orophin whined loudly as he let go of Haldir's leg, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration, stomping once for good measure.

"Maybe next time Orophin…" Haldir said, smiling down at the little one and ruffling his unbraided tresses a bit before heading towards the door.

"Will you be back to tuck me in?" Orophin asked, tagging along with Haldir as he walked to the door, clutching his brother's left hand with both of his as he looked up at Haldir with soulful eyes.

Rumil could tell that the smile he gave Orophin was forced, but it was there nonetheless. "I will try, my brother. Until I get back, behave for Rumil." He said, bending down to kiss the top of the little elfling's forehead.

"Bye!" Orophin cried out as he watched Haldir descend down the stairs from the open doorway, waving like crazy, though Haldir did not turn around to see it.

ooOoo

Haldir breathed a sigh of relief once he was out of Orophin's sight. The young one had been smothering him and Haldir could hardly take it any longer. The little elfling was very clingy, which was something that Haldir was not used to dealing with. He did not mind his company, he really did not, but the little one had to constantly be touching him! Haldir did not know how to handle this, as he usually liked to have his own personal space. Though Haldir was slightly annoyed with Orophin, he was even gladder to be out of the talan for another reason.

The family dinner.

It just was not the same, not without ada and naneth. Being at the table with his brothers had roused memories that he had been blocking out, memories of his parents that pained him so. Up until now, this method had been working, but spending time with his brothers had brought the pain back as if it were new.

_"Maegkheled," naneth said, addressing ada with a smile and a bit of mischief in her voice, "You look weary and hot…perhaps you should cool off a bit before dinner is ready." She stated, walking into the dining room from the kitchen, placing a salad on the table for their family dinner before approaching ada, who was bent over a book and a few written reports with a very serious and concentrated and look on his face._

_When he did not look up at her, Teluial smiled a bit more and up behind his chair, her hands immediately resting on his shoulders. When she started to massage him, he finally looked up. "My love," she said softly, then leaned over and whispered in his ear, "You are working too hard again."_

_Knowing that she would not let him work any longer in his present state, he sighed and leaned back in his chair, one hand rubbing at his eyes wearily. "Hmm…perhaps you are right…" He muttered, still not all the way out of his working mode._

_"I know I am right…" She said, bending over and kissing the top of his head softly._

_He looked up and over his shoulder, a fatigued smile on his face. "Is there time for me to go and have a cool bath before dinner is ready?" He asked, turning towards her and putting his hands on her waist playfully._

_"Oh, most certainly!" She said with a wink, then quickly grabbed a nearby water pitcher and poured it over his head! Ada could only stand there in shock, sputtering, after the water had soaked through his clothes and into his hair._

_The pair stood there staring at each other in mock silence for a few moments, Maegkheled blinking as droplets of water rolled down his face. Suddenly, Teluial laughed a bit as Maegkheled gave her an ornery grin before bolting up out of his chair and chasing her out of the talan, both laughing crazily as they banged down the stairs._

" _You play with fire Teluial!" Haldir heard his father cry out as he walked out onto the landing to watch their crazy game below._

" _I am certain that I just extinguished that fire—EEP!" His mother yelped, as his father enveloped her in a soggy hug, which was followed by a deep kiss._

" _EEEEEWWWW!"_

_Haldir turned around to see his 16-year old brother Rumil, staring at the scene as well, thoroughly disgusted with his parents and covering his eyes with hands. "THAT'S GROSS!"_

_Smiling, Haldir uncrossed his arms and reached down to ruffle the little guy's hair. "You may think that now Rumil, but one day you will want to kiss ellyth too."_

" _EWW! I WILL NOT!" He cried out, then ran back into the flet as Haldir chuckled at his brother's antics._

Coming back to reality, Haldir sighed heavily as the pain of loss hit him again. He stopped walking and rubbed one his hands over his face, trying to get a hold of himself before he entered the training field. _"Forget it…"_ He thought to himself, _"Let it go. You cannot train like this and you really do need to work on your long knives…"_

Being one of the candidates for the newly open March Warden position was really putting a lot of pressure on Haldir. There were many things he needed to improve on if he was to pass the tests.

Pushing everything else out of his mind, Haldir entered into the training area as calmly as he could. It was time to practice.

ooOoo

Back in the warmly lit talan, two figures, one large and one small, sat on their knees around a large wooden bucket full of steaming water between them. Rumil watched as Orophin carefully tried to clean off a silvery plate, swirling the white dishrag around on it very slowly.

Though Rumil could have had that plate done a few minutes ago, Orophin had been eager to do something other than dry the dishes, so Rumil had decided to let him try. The little elfling seemed to be struggling with the task though and was unable to get some of the stuck on food off of the plate. Calmly, Rumil reached over with another dishrag and started helping him, only to have the plate yanked away from him.

"Stop it! I want to do it!" Orophin cried out, rather upset that his brother would not let him do it himself. Clearly irritated, he pushed the dish all the way under the water and scrubbed as hard as his little arms would allow.

"Brother, it is late…" Rumil said sternly, being equally annoyed with Orophin at this point. "Hurry up and finish. It is past your bedtime."

"It is not! Besides, Haldir is not back yet! He said he would tuck me in!" Orophin declared loudly.

"He said he would tuck you in IF he was back in time. I do not think he will be able to oblige you tonight. Now give me the plate!" Rumil commanded sternly, grabbing the plate, despite the fact that Orophin had not let go of it. The two had a small struggle which resulted in the plate being flung across the room and hitting their mother's painting of the two Eldarin lovers in the garden, which fell from the wall. The painting burst free from its frame, which cracked immediately upon contact with the floor.

Both brothers stared at the broken frame in shock, silently analyzing the damage. Finally, Rumil stood up and glared down at Orophin, who met his eyes with a guilty look. "Brother, I'm sor-"

"Go to bed. Now." Rumil said in an eerily soft and calm voice. He closed his eyes when and tried to stay calm. When he opened them, Orophin was gone, though he could hear soft sobbing coming from his room.

Knowing that he was just as much the cause of this as Orophin was, Rumil shook his head in defeat as he walked over to the wall and looked down at the painting in the smashed frame.

Haldir was going to be very upset.

Carefully, Rumil squatted down and removed the broken frame from the priceless painting. Luckily, the painting was unscathed. However, the frame was no longer useable. Picking up the beautifully-carved wooden shards, Rumil walked into the kitchen and put them beside the woodstove to be used as fuel. Slowly, he walked back into the front room to try and figure out what to do with the painting.

He sighed as he stared at the two lovers in the garden, frameless, lying against the wall. This painting was their mother's pride and joy—light pastel colors swirling around to create the moonlit sky with lush greenery in the garden below, scattered with the brightest flowers, all painted to perfection.

Rumil did not know what to do. Haldir was definitely going to find out about this and he would not be happy. Deciding that his fate would be the same no matter what he did with the painting, Rumil set it gently upon the clean kitchen table and then headed out the door and started up the stairs to the stargazing platform, his absolute favorite place to be at night.

As Rumil settled himself down into a comfortable position on his back, he frowned as Orophin's small sobs caught his ears again. This made Rumil feel terrible; he had not meant to be so harsh with the little elfling. He was not even angry at him any more—Rumil could not stay mad at anyone for very long. It simply was not part of his easy-going nature.

 _"I will have to talk to him about this in the morning."_ Rumil thought as he stared up into the familiar night sky. Finally the sobs faded away and turned into rhythmic breathing, signifying that his brother was finally asleep.

Stretching his legs and arms out as far as they would go as he yawned, Rumil then bent his elbows and brought his hands behind his head, laying with one of his knees bent up toward the sky. Quickly he glanced at the stairs to make sure that nobody was coming, then, deciding it was safe, started to pass the night as he always did.

"Ada," he whispered, staring into the heavens above, the bright stars glistening down on him from the dark, unending abyss above him. "I miss you. I hope I am not making a fool out of myself, talking to you like this, but I like to imagine that you can hear me, wherever you are…Mandos' Halls still, I presume-"

Rumil immediately stopped and jerked his head towards the stairway, as he thought he had heard something. He did not want to be caught talking to himself—that would simply be too embarrassing. However, he saw that it was only a small grey squirrel, climbing back up to its home in the mallorn tree. Quickly, he brought his focus back up to the sky.

"Ada," He whispered again, as to not draw attention to himself, "Haldir has finally returned to us. He is still very upset about your death though and nana's as well. He does still love us though, which is something…anything is better than nothing, especially as far as Orophin is concerned. That elfling needs all of the love and coddling he can get, which seems to be more than I myself can give to him alone. I just hope Haldir does not let Orophin down, as he is his role model. I do not think Haldir understands how much Orophin looks up to him. Then again, maybe he does…one never knows what Haldir is thinking."

Rumil sighed and closed his eyes, picturing his father in his head to the best of his ability. Maegkheled was so tall, so handsome, strong, and proud—just like Haldir, but nothing like himself. "Ada, why am I not like you? I am such a dreamer and I feel like I do not meet your expectations, just as I do not meet Haldir's. I know that I will join the guard and be a good enough warden, but I will never be at Haldir's level. He is so highly motivated, persevering through thick and thin. I cannot do that. I am not that strong. Not when I am alone." He murmured, opening his eyes with the hopes of seeing his father sitting beside him, there to console and reassure him as he always had…but Rumil had no such luck.

He was still alone.

After checking to make sure that he was alone again, he rolled onto his stomach and chanced a quick glance into the room of his dream elleth. Indeed, she was there, sleeping in all of her glory, the white satin sheet barely covering her delicious curves from Rumil's prying eyes. After seeing that she was there, Rumil promptly rolled back into his prior position, taking in a slow and deep breath with the hopes of relieving some of his pent-up sexual tension. Though it took more than one breath, when Rumil turned his thoughts elsewhere, the tension receeded, as it always did. Staring at the stars again thoughtfully, only one thing seemed to come to Rumil's mind.

"Ada…am I destined to always be alone?"

Little did Rumil know, he was rarely ever alone when he was on the stargazing platform.

ooOoo

_Papa, can you hear me?_

_Papa, can you see me?_

_Papa, can you find me in the night?_

_ooOoo_

With a small flicker of his eyelids, Orophin suddenly found himself quite awake in the middle of the night. He had been startled by an odd dream; it had not been a particularly scary dream, but it had been rather off-putting. Orophin had dreamt that his brother Rumil was made up of his colorful wooden building blocks. Haldir had touched "building-block Rumil" in the dream and Rumil had fallen to pieces. Orophin certainly knew that he brother was not made up of colorful blocks and could not be broken as such, but it had been enough to make him wake up, awe-struck by such a dream.

Sitting up, Orophin wondered if Haldir had finally come back home. Orophin knew that it must be late, as he could hear Rumil lightly snoring outside from the stargazing platform, which he seemed to fall asleep on quite often. Silently, so that he would not wake Rumil, Orophin slid off of his bed and slowly trekked out of his room, opening the door slowly so that the old hinges would not moan.

Orophin was home-free once he closed the door silently to his own room. His excellent elf eyes prevented him from running into the furniture of the front room, despite the fact that it was almost pitch black in there, as the moonlight was blocked from entering many of the windows by the highest branches of the mallorn tree that their talan was situated in. Shadows moved throughout the room as the branches outside blew with the breezes, but Orophin was quite used to this and was not alarmed, determined to make sure that his brother had made it home safely.

Without making a sound, Orophin grabbed Haldir's door knob and turned it, holding his breath so that he would not wake his ever-alert brother. Quickly, Orophin peeked into the darkened room and frowned when he saw that his brother's bed was empty and looked untouched.

 _"Where is Haldir? Why did he not come back home?"_ Orophin thought to himself, his little eyebrows furrowed at this puzzling predicament. It was the middle of the night! Surely Haldir did not need to practice this long…

...unless…

 _"Oh no!"_ Orophin thought to himself, _"He must have seen the painting I broke, got mad, and left!"_

A small tear streaked down Orophin's cheek as he stood in his brother's doorway feeling quite guilty of his actions. _"I did not mean to do it,"_ he thought, _"It was an accident! Now he will go back to being mean again and it is all my fault!"_

After thinking that, Orophin leaned his back up against Haldir's doorframe and cried, slowly sliding down it until he ended up sitting on the floor in a very scrunched up position. He sat there for a while, his mind blank as small tears ran down his cheeks at differing speeds. Even now, he remembered to be silent, as Orophin was quite certain that waking up Rumil and explaining the situation would just make him angry too.

Soon, a small time had passed and Orophin managed to get a hold of himself, wiping the tears off of his nose and chin, then tasting the salty liquid when he put his pointer finger in his mouth as he often did when he was upset about something. It was at this particular moment that an incredible idea hit Orophin.

 _"Wait…that one time when Haldir was angry, he said that elves should not sit and cry about things, but should do something to fix their problem instead… I know! I will go find Haldir and apologize! Then he will forgive me, come home, and tuck me in!"_ Orophin thought, getting to his feet abruptly; he perked up tremendously after having this new, albeit rather impractical idea.

Quickly, Orophin scampered over to the hall and pulled his heavily soiled boots out of the muddy clothes pile from earlier and pulled them on. He did his best to tie them on his own, but one ended up rather loose, while the other sported a large knot instead of the typical bow. Orophin ignored this though, as the only thought in his head was to bring his brother back home before Rumil found out and got mad again.

Tracking dried mud clumps all across the front room, Orophin silently turned the doorknob and pushed the door open with ease, pausing in the doorway for a moment while staring out into the eerily lit woods beneath him. Rumil had always told Orophin never to enter the woods alone, especially not at night. The more Orophin thought about it, he remembered Haldir warning him about this as well, though it was before their parents had died and their world had turned upside-down, of course.

But Haldir was out there and angry with him. Orophin had missed Haldir's presence in his life greatly over the past year and did not want to lose his brotherly love for another long period of time just because of breaking naneth's painting. He had to do it. He had to be brave and go out by himself. He had to apologize to Haldir and make everything go back to normal again. Going out after dark surely would not be that bad anyway. After all, Orophin had been to the warden's training area once or twice…he would be able to find it easily enough.

With a small boost of courage, Orophin stepped out the door, pushing it closed behind him as he started to walk down the stairs. Unbeknownst to Orophin, the door did not close, as he did not push it hard enough behind him. The metal latch started to click, but then came loose, leaving the door open and swaying lightly in the breeze.

Walking slowly, Orophin was in the most alert state that he had ever been in his life. He heard every little noise as he walked down the dimly lighted stairs slowly. A few of the older wooden stairs creaked a little bit, which scared Orophin at first before he remembered that they always did that. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stared off into the forest path, which was dimly lit with a blue-tinted light. After pausing for a moment, Orophin started to take a few small and shaky steps into the great forest…

…alone.


	2. Orcs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you goes out to thegemoflasgalen for the comment! I hope everyone enjoys the second chapter!
> 
> Note: In this fic, I have made 50 the age that elves arrive at their majority. This makes Rumil about the equivalent of a 17 year old by human standards and Orophin around five or six by human standards, though he is rather smart for his age, even by the standards of the Eldar.
> 
> Note: Parts of the song have been removed from the fic to accommodate AO3's songfic policy.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises. I also do not own the song Papa, Can You Hear Me? from Yentl._

**Papa, Can You Hear Me?**

_By: Ponytail Goddess_

Chapter 2: Orcs

Sighing with both mental and physical exhaustion, Haldir put down his twin long knives and sat down in the green grass of the practice field for a second while catching his breath. He had been pushing his limits tonight, not so much to improve himself, but more so hoping that the extra exertion would give him solace from his family issues for a short time. Just as he had suspected, it had worked, but it was only a temporary fix. Now as he sat alone at the deserted practice field, staring up at the glistening stars, he found himself right back where he had started.

_"Haldir…will you come and watch Rumil for me so that I can finish this painting?"_

_Upon hearing such a request, Haldir frowned immediately. Why did he always get stuck watching his little brother? Haldir found the job highly annoying, as he had many important things on his agenda, such as training…and elleths…and training… Begrudgingly, he trudged onto the balcony outside of the front room._

_There he saw his beautiful naneth sitting on one of the leaf-carved chairs in front of her easel, a palate of mixed paints resting in one of her delicate hands. The other hand held a tiny detail brush, poised in position to add a lavender highlight to a flourishing purple flower on her canvas. Surrounding her were many paintbrushes and potted flowers, some on a small table next to her while others were circling around her on the floor. This was also where Rumil was located, sprawled out on the floor with his limbs askew, happily chewing away at one of his naneth's good paintbrushes in an attempt to ease the pain in his gums, as he was currently teething._

_Teluial did not even need to look at Haldir to know what he was thinking. "Please help Haldir. You know I need to finish this painting for the neighbors. Rumil is going to destroy all of my paintbrushes. I know you do not like to watch him, but I need your help." She said to him calmly, turning to look him in the eyes before she finished speaking._

_"Naneth, I was just going out to train with my sword. Can it not wait until ada is here to watch him in a few hours?" Haldir asked, clearly annoyed at having his agenda interrupted._

_"No my darling, this is a gift that the neighbors want to give to their parents when they arrive. I need to have it done tonight so that it will be dry in time for their arrival tomorrow. Come now Haldir, one day you will have elflings. This experience will be good for you."_

Haldir blinked as the memory seared through his mind yet again. It was a very familiar memory—one that he thought of frequently during the past year. If only he had watched Rumil and Orophin more often, then perhaps he would have been better prepared for all of the responsibilities he held right now.

Putting his face in his hands wearily, Haldir sighed and whispered to himself, "It is almost like a rotten joke that the Valar have played on me. Because I did not wish to help out with my family in previous years, they have now shifted their responsibility over to me completely."

Lying down in the grass beside his glistening long knives, Haldir found that all he really wanted to do was see his adar and naneth, though he knew it was not possible. The responsibility was so very overwhelming. If only he could see his mother's gentle smile and his father's reassuring nod of approval. If only…

It was time. Suddenly, Haldir knew what he had to do. He could see his parents after all…

He was going to go and visit their grave. Never before had Haldir even seen their grave, as he had allowed his work to swallow him whole after their deaths. He had been afraid of what memories it would evoke. However, Haldir now knew they could not be any worse than the ones that he was experiencing from spending time with his brothers. It was time for him to grieve properly.

Slowly, Haldir got to his feet and picked up his long knives, starting his long walk to the cemetery all by himself.

ooOoo

A small thump immediately woke Rumil up with a gasp. Immediately, he sat up, blinking a few times to dampen his eyes and looked around. His eyes widened as he saw a flash of silver hair disappear around a corner of stairs that led down to the base of the mallorn tree.

"Hello?" Rumil called out, getting to his feet and running down the stairs to try and catch up with the mysterious figure. By the time he rounded the corner though, the figure was long gone. Groaning, Rumil leaned against the hard bark of the mallorn tree for a moment and closed his eyes, feeling incredibly tired.

Rumil stood there for the longest time, trying to figure out who could have been up on the platform with him. It could not have been Orophin, as the hair had been too high in the air to match his tiny elfling stature. Rumil also doubted it was Haldir; although Haldir knew that Rumil often came out on the deck and fell asleep, he had never once bothered to come and retrieve him at night.

An uneasiness cast a shadow over Rumil's face as he started to walk slowly back up the stairs to his family's talan. If not his brothers, who else would be up with him on the stargazing platform? Rumil's friends no longer came to call since he had no time to spend with them. It was a mystery indeed.

Perhaps even more a mystery, however, was the unlatched door on their family talan, banging lightly against the wall with the breezes. Rumil's heart stopped beating for a second when he saw this—what was going on? Was someone inside their talan; someone who did not belong?

Orophin.

Without a second thought about his own personal safety, Rumil quickly snuck through the door and headed straight for Orophin's room. He pushed the door open and was shocked to find the room empty.

"Orophin!" He cried out, searching frantically under the sheets, then under the bed, then in the closet, hoping to catch a glimpse of his brother's unkempt silvery locks somewhere in the room.

He was not there.

Quickly becoming hysterical, Rumil tore through the remainder of the house in a matter of minutes, leaving no nook or cranny unturned while looking for Orophin. There was no trace of him anywhere in the talan.

After coming out of Haldir's room, a startling realization occurred. The hallway that had earlier housed Orophin's muddy boots and clothing was now devoid of those items. Upon further inspection, Rumil found several clumps of dried up mud leading him to the talan's door, which was still ajar and blowing in the breeze.

"Oh no…" Rumil moaned as he pushed open the door and looked out, fearing the worst. His heart sank as he saw that the mud trail continued down the stairway.

His little brother had left home.

In the dark.

Alone.

Fully panicking now and feeling completely helpless, Rumil bounded down the stairs to the bottom of the mallorn tree while shouting Orophin's name into the night.

ooOoo

_Papa, are you near me?_

_Papa, can you hear me?_

_Papa, can you help me not be frightened?_

ooOoo

With his steps lightly plodding through the night, Orophin treaded on through the darkness. He could see well enough, as the light blue glow of Lorien shined down on the path. The city felt eerie though to the young one. He had never been out so late and unaccompanied before. There was no one else on the path and all was silent and unmoving around him. Even the trees did not blow, as if they too had gone to bed for the night. All he could hear in the night was his own breath, the gentle inhales and exhales as he went along.

He didn't recall the training grounds being this far away when he had last went with Haldir, but perhaps it was because Rumil had carried him half of the way there before he had sat down in the grass and watched his older brothers spar with each other. Rumil was in training to become a warden and Haldir would take him to the training grounds at least twice a week to work on the skills he needed to enter the guard.

From what Orophin could tell, Rumil seemed to be getting better with his fighting skills, but clearly needed a lot of help with wielding weapons. Just last week, the two had been working on knife throwing skills. They had practiced in front of a target for what seemed like hours while he watched, stopping only to race a few large birds that flew across the field.

After begging repeatedly, Haldir had also begrudgingly let Orophin throw the knives at the target once. Much to Rumil's embarrassment, Orophin had caught onto it more quickly than his older brother and had hit the target repeatedly on his first try. Granted, he was allowed to stand much closer to the target, due to his size, but he was still very pleased with himself and the possibility of someday getting trained by his brother Haldir as well.

"One day I shall be a warden," he whispered quietly to himself, "Then I will be big, and strong, and have nothing to fear in the darkness."

An owl hooted, his loud and low sound echoing through the night and sending a chill through Orophin. He looked around, but could not see the bird anywhere. However, he did spot one thing that he liked a lot.

Fireflies!

There was a large cloud of them floating just off the path and out of his reach. Entranced by their blinking lights, Orophin momentarily forgot his fear at the sight of something so welcomingly familiar. He gingerly pulled back the branches of a large shrub so that he could step off the path and gain access to their flitting beauty. Completely forgetting where he was and the task at hand, he ran after them as they sparkled through the night, leading him deeper into the forest.

It was not until his boots became stuck in a large pool of mud that Orophin realized he was very far away from the well-lit city pathway. In fact, now that the fireflies had gotten away from him, he could barely see at all. With all his might, he pulled up his legs to try and get himself out of the mud hole, but only successfully pulled his feet out of his loosely tied boots.

"Oh no!" He cried out as he fell on his hands and knees in the mud. Cautiously, he crawled out of the cold, slimey mud and made it back to the safety of the forest floor. Looking back, he could not see the mud pit or his boots in the darkness, so he decided to move on without them.

Orophin stood up and turned in a circle slowly. There was no sign of any light or elf to be seen. All he could see was the outline of trees and bushes in the darkness. There was no denying it now.

He was lost.

ooOoo

Halfway to the cemetery, Haldir stopped and listened as he heard the thunder of horse hooves behind him. Turning quickly, he saw a warden approaching him with haste upon a white steed. Upon reaching Haldir, he tugged the reigns gracefully to halt the beast.

"Haldir, news from the front! We have reason to believe that two orcs have made it past our border patrol after a large pack caused a distraction on the western front. All available wardens in the city are being summoned to start combing the woods immediately."

"Yes, sir!" Haldir replied, quickly double-checking that he was still carrying his long knives as the messenger quickly rode away. Apparently, his visit to his parents would have to be postponed. There were more pressing matters afoot.

Light on his feet, Haldir quickly scaled a small tree on the edge of the forest, then took off through the tree line. He was silent as he skirted along, scanning quickly all around him as he went, determined to find the orcs that had ruined his plans for the night.

He thought of his adar, Maegkheled, and what he had been told of the skirmish that had ensued and ended both his life, as well as his naneth's life.

_Exhausted both mentally and physically, Haldir forced himself to open the door. His naneth had fallen over and passed into the Halls of Mandos earlier that evening. There had been screaming and a frantic healer who had done everything he could, but simply did not have the means to save his naneth. He had told Haldir that by the time he had arrived, she had already faded away and gone._

_The worst part though was knowing precisely what the knock on the door was for. After all, naneth would not have fallen and faded away without a reason. Haldir had already figured out what had happened, but he was still required to go through the motions and answer the door._

_He held his breath and used what little energy he had left to open the door. There stood two stern-looking Lorien wardens, holding his father's bow and long knives._

_"Haldir, I'm afraid we have bad news. Your father, Maegkheled, was involved in a border skirmish with a pack of orcs tonight. Our post was overrun by the sheer size of the group. There were more than we could handle with the amount of elves present. Your father fought them bravely until the very end, but he was pierced from behind with several black arrows. We rushed him to the healer, but he passed before we were able to get there. I'm sorry."_

_The three stared at one another solemnly. The two wardens had dead eyes and looked haunted as they relived the fight in their minds. Haldir closed his eyes and slowly inhaled before quietly saying, "I see. My naneth has also faded tonight from the lack of his presence. She passed a couple hours ago."_

_The two elves looked down, trying to hide the pain of this additional news. To lose one parent in a night was nearly unbearable, but to lose both? Silently, they handed Maegkheled's belongings over to Haldir, including his Lorien leaf pin, which Haldir immediately placed in his pocket for safe-keeping._

_"The Lord and Lady will be in contact with you about the arrangements. Again, our condolences Haldir." Solemnly, they saluted Haldir by placing their fists on their chests simultaneously. Haldir forced himself to wearily return the gesture. Then, they made their exit as quietly as they had come._

_Haldir closed the door behind him. He leaned on the door and slowly slid to the ground, as if his legs could no longer hold his weight. The pain was unbearable. He felt only coldness in his chest and closed his eyes to concentrate on his breathing while he started to process this._

_"So…it is real then?" A stammering, high-pitched voice asked from in front of him. Haldir opened his eyes to see his brother Rumil standing a few feet in front of him, hugging himself and shaking bitterly._

_"I'm afraid so."_

Haldir gasped as he realized he was not thinking as clearly as he needed to be for the task at hand. There was no time for mourning when danger was potentially running loose near the city. Quickly, he passed through the trees, one by one, looking for signs of danger.

Suddenly, he heard shouting in the distance. Immediately, he changed directions and headed towards the disturbance. Jumping gracefully out of a tree he landed on the pathway right in front of Rumil. Surprised, he immediately called out, "Rumil, what are you doing out at this-"

Before he could finish, Rumil grabbed his arms and interrupted him with an abnormally loud voice. "Haldir! It's Orophin! He's left the talan alone! I'm not sure where he went!"

Haldir's heart skipped a beat, then started to race as he thought about this new turn of events. Rumil was looking at him expectantly, breathing heavily from the stress of the situation.

"There are two orcs on the loose in the forest, Rumil. He is in grave danger. We need to find him immediately!" Haldir said, then started to run down the path with Rumil trailing closely behind him.

"Orophin! OROPHIN!" They shouted repeatedly, looking all around them for any signs of life on the empty city paths. As they sprinted around a large bend in the path, both came to a halt immediately upon seeing a young elleth holding a lantern up into the woods.

"LITTLE ONE!" She shouted, "Come towards the light!"

Haldir immediately approached her. "You have seen a young elfling enter the woods here?"

The elleth gasped and turned immediately. She appeared to be both surprised and relieved at their presence. She turned and quickly looked at Haldir, then Rumil, then Haldir again. "Yes, I saw Rumil's little brother go into the forest over here! He isn't responding to my calls and I cannot see where he went!"

"You should not be alone right now, there are two orcs on the loose. Rumil, stay with this elleth while I go find Orophin. Keep her safe." He said, tossing Rumil a knife from his belt as he gracefully climbed the nearest tree and disappeared into the night.

He just had to find Orophin before anything bad happened to him.

ooOoo

Orophin gasped as heard something pushing through the trees and brush, coming towards him in the darkness. There was some unusual-sounding laughter and the clanking of metal hitting metal. A bush near him started to shake. His eyes opened wide as he saw a monster come out of it.

"Ha! Well, look what's here! Elf spawn!" The monster said. Orophin could not see him too well, but he could tell that the monster was tall with deep yellow eyes. He was covered in some ill-fitting metal armor that had a couple of ripped leather straps hanging off of the sides. He could also see that he was carrying a pointy piece of metal over his shoulder that looked rather sharp.

Orophin turned to run and hide, but felt a clawed hand roughly grab him before he could. He turned and saw the beast had his arm and was leaning down to closely examine him. His breath was foul and his teeth were half broken.

"Sir, are you an orc?" Orophin asked shakily, feeling very concerned that the answer would be yes. He had never seen an orc in person before, but he had heard a great many stories from his brothers and adar about orcs and this creature seemed to match the descriptions he had heard.

"What?!" The beast bellowed with nasty grin. "Did you hear that, Jag? SIR, ARE YOU AN ORC?!" He blared into the night, mimicking Orophin's high-pitched voice, then letting go of him as he burst into exuberant laughter, placing his metal bar on the ground to hold his sides as his body raucously bellowed.

Now that he had let Orophin go, the elfling started to slowly crawl backwards, keeping his two wide eyes trained on the mysterious beast at all times. However, he froze when he heard a second voice coming from behind him. "Of course he's a orc, you elf spawn!"

He heard heavy, limping steps coming from behind him, then once again felt the warm, putrid breath on his neck. "And do you know what we with elf spawn?" He whispered in Orophin's ear. "We eat their flesh clean off their bones!"

Orophin gasped as the orc behind him pushed him towards the first orc again. Breathing heavily, he fell to his knees in defeat.

And that is when everything around him turned white.


	3. The Vow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to thegemoflasgalen for the lovely comment and to my readers for the kudos!
> 
> Note: In this fic, I have made 50 the age that elves arrive at their majority. This makes Rumil about the equivalent of a 17 year old by human standards and Orophin around five or six by human standards, though he is rather smart for his age, even by the standards of the Eldar.
> 
> Note: Parts of the song have been removed to try and meet AO3's songfic requirements.

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises. I also do not own the song _Papa, Can You Hear Me?_ from Yentyl.

ooOoo

**Papa, Can You Hear Me?**

_By: Ponytail Goddess_

Chapter 3: The Vow

Orophin was in a meadow filled with white light. The ground was flat and covered with short grasses and flowering purple clover. The wind was blowing heavily from behind the tall, blonde elleth who stood before him. She was surrounded by the brightest light he had ever seen, but Orophin could still see her face looking down at him.

_"Orophin"_

Mysteriously, her voice seemed to be in his head, rather than coming from her lips, which had not moved. He had seen her before, but had never once spoken to her. He did know that she was very important, as he had seen many elves bow down before her to show respect before speaking with her.

Though Orophin had been terribly frightened just a minute before from the orcs, his fear had immediately gone away when he saw the elleth. She smiled at him kindly, took two steps toward him, then knelt down on one knee before him. He bowed before her, mimicking the elves he had seen by her in the city. A second later, he felt her finger under his chin, lifting his eyes up to meet hers. They glowed with an unknown power as she once again spoke within his mind.

_"There is something in your pocket that can help you. Remember, Haldir showed you how."_

She pointed to his right tunic pocket, then met his eyes again and held them. _"You are brave, just like your ada."_

And just like that, she was gone. Immediately, the light turned back into the darkness of the woods. Orophin was back on his knees with an orc in front of him and an orc behind him. Both were laughing loudly and one pushed him back down into the dirt as he tried to get up.

"My pocket," he whispered breathlessly to himself. He put his hand up against his tunic and immediately felt the weight of something there. It was a small throwing knife he had gotten from Haldir after being at the training grounds. His eldest brother had been surprised and impressed with his early demonstration of skill and had gifted it to him so he could practice with Rumil.

Orophin remembered what Haldir had taught his brother Rumil that day. "Raise it back with a good grip, then snap it down fast so that it turns when you throw it. Let go quickly or it will hit the ground."

There was nothing Orophin wanted more than to be brave just like Haldir and his ada. Before the orcs realized what was going on, Orophin had pulled the knife from his pocket, raised it up, and threw it directly at the orc in front of him. The knife flew fast and true and pinned the orc's arm to the tree behind him.

The orc screamed loudly after the knife pierced his flesh. Orophin did not waste any time getting to his feet and started to run away, trying his best not to trip on the uneven brush.

"Jag, he's got a knife! KILL HIM!" He heard the orc screeching behind him as he attempted to flee into the night. The other orc was too fast though and grabbed him by the back of his tunic. Still he tried to run, pushing so hard to get away from the orc that he heard the fabric of his tunic start to tear from the pressure.

The orc violently pushed him to the ground then raised a large club up in the air. Orophin screamed loudly, closed his eyes, and raised his hands up above his head in a last attempt to protect himself from the blow.

It never came though. Tentatively, Orophin opened his eyes and looked up to see a large blade sticking out of the orc's middle as his club fell haphazardly to the ground beside him. The orc groaned, then went limp on the blade. Immediately, the blade disappeared from the orc and was sent flying towards the one who was pinned to the tree. Orophin turned just in time to see him moan and go limp.

Before he knew what was happening, two strong arms enveloped him and carried him off into the treetops. He breathed heavily into the silver hair that was in his face and shivered from a mixture of fear and relief.

Ada. His ada had come to save him, just as he always had in the past. He knew he could always count on him-

The arms that put him down on the path were not his ada's though. Now that he was on the well-lit path, he found himself looking into his brother Haldir's face. His brother had a different look on his face than he had ever seen before. He was frantic with large, intense eyes. Immediately, he started patting him and inspecting him all over. He appeared to be saying things to him, but Orophin could not seem to hear the words.

Ada was dead.

Ada did not save him.

Tears started to drip from his eyes as he remembered that he did not get to see his ada anymore. The world started to blur around him as he saw another elf kneel down beside him as well.

"I think he might be in shock, Haldir." His brother Rumil's voice said. It sounded so distant from him, as he was far away. "He looks scared."

The arms once again wrapped around him and held him with a tight ferocity of which Orophin was unaccustomed. He could hear the alarmingly fast beating of his brother's heart through his tunic. He could smell fresh sandalwood in his hair. Someone was rubbing his back as well. After a few minutes, he felt himself start to calm a bit and suddenly became aware of his surroundings. His breathing slowed to a normal pace and he rubbed his face against his brother, wiping his tears into his tunic so that he could see.

"Haldir?" He heard his faint voice say after lifting his head from Haldir's wet tunic and looking into its owner's concerned face. "Can we go home now?"

His brother studied his face carefully before answering with a quick nod. Haldir stood up then promptly scooped him up in his arms. Orophin buried his face into his brother's shoulder, relieved that the night would soon be over.

ooOoo

Rumil breathed an audible sigh of relief as he watched Haldir lift his youngest brother into his arms, holding him securely against his torso. Slowly, he stood up as well and surveyed the many elves who were now standing with them on the path.

He had guarded Kalarien, the young elleth who had found Orophin on the path, for only a quick minute before they had heard the blood-curdling scream. Armed with the long knife from Haldir, Rumil had immediately pushed in front of her, carefully holding the knife at the ready for whatever happened to pop out of the woods. A feeling of dread had swept over him, as he knew his weaponry skills were very basic. Rumil was uncertain of whether or not he could hold his ground if something did in fact come out of the woods.

Luckily, he hadn't needed to. The dark blood dripping off of the long knife Haldir had stuck in his belt told the story of what had happened. Rumil felt sadness for his younger brother and the horrors he had witnessed tonight. In Rumil's opinion, no elfling should have to bear witness to evil or death.

As a couple of wardens approached Haldir to debrief, Rumil turned once again to Kalarien. As he met her grey eyes, she took a step away from him, having been standing in very close proximity to him up until this point. Her face bore only a trace of lingering fear, but the way her hands seemed to be clinging to lantern spoke very clearly to him about her current emotional state.

He had been absolutely astonished to see that it was Kalarien, of all elves, on the path looking for his brother earlier in the night. She was a classmate of his from school and he had not seen any of his classmates in nearly a year. Honestly, Rumil had wondered if he would ever get to see any of them again because of the turn his life had taken last year. None of them had seemed to care enough to continue visiting him when he had stopped attending school, and yet here was Kalarien, in the flesh, right before his very eyes.

As Rumil looked her over, he saw that Kalarien was nearly unchanged from how he remembered her. Smaller in stature than most ellyth her age, she was dressed in a simple lavender gown with long white sleeves. Her straight, silver hair looked as though she had taken her hands and twisted it over one shoulder, which was where it hung loosely now. Noticing that he was looking at her, Kalarien looked up and met his gaze. She offered him a small, weak smile as he stared at her curiously.

Rumil now suspected that she had been the silver-haired elleth he had seen running down the stairway of his talan earlier in the night. However, he did not understand what she would have been doing up there in the first place. While they had both been very close friends in their earlier childhood, Kalarien's personality had soon changed and a rift had eventually formed between them because of it. They had slowly grown apart as they aged. The only time Rumil had spoken to her over the past few years was when he was working with his study group, of which she was a member.

"Are you okay? The news about the orcs was rather startling, was it not?" Rumil asked her quietly, searching her face for the answers to more than just the questions he had asked.

"Yes, I am fine. I am mostly relieved your brother was found so quickly. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest when I saw him wander off the path... and again when he screamed." Her soft voice replied, her face glancing over to Haldir and Orophin. "Is he also your brother?"

"Indeed, my oldest brother is Haldir, a warden of Lorien. Orophin is the name of my younger brother." He said, smiling at her as she turned back to him. "I think we all owe you a large debt of gratitude. I do not know if we would have found him in time without your assistance. Thank you."

"I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I am glad I was able to assist you both." She answered politely, then turned away from him. Looking in the direction she now faced, Rumil saw Haldir approaching them with Orophin still in his arms.

"Rumil, please carry those home for me. I cannot bring them and Orophin home at the same time." Haldir said, using his head to indicate another warden who was holding Orophin's small throwing knife and a pair of the dirtiest elfling boots he had ever laid eyes upon.

He then turned to acknowledge Kalarien. "And I must of course thank you for spotting our little brother for us. Your assistance was more helpful than you know."

"You are most welcome." Kalarien answered, using a slight incline of her head to acknowledge his gratitude. Haldir gave her a nod in return before once again turning his attention back to Rumil.

"I trust you will walk this elleth to her talan before returning home? Though the orcs have been vanquished, we should still ensure her safe arrival."

Rumil glanced at Kalarien before motioning towards the pathway with the soiled boots. "Shall we?"

With a nod, the two began to walk away from the wardens and follow the blue-tinted pathway. They listened to the wardens talking amongst themselves until they were far enough away that they could hear them no more. Once they were distanced from them, the forest grew much quieter and they listened to each others' breathing as they silently walked along.

Rumil had never been one to enjoy long silences though and found himself growing more and more curious as they walked along. His gaze slowly turned to Kalarien. Her eyes were scanning the woods and she was still clutching her lantern tightly, as if she had not quite stopped worrying about orcs popping out of the forest.

Perhaps he should try to distract her. "Kalarien," he asked quietly, "It was very lucky that you were out tonight and spotted my brother. Not many elves come out so late in the evening though. May I inquire as to why you were out so late?" He was uncertain if this had been something appropriate for him to ask her, but in the end, his curiosity had won out.

Rumil had wondered this for a while because he was certain that Kalarien relatively close to him in age. Those who were not of age did not often roam the city alone at night.

Looking forward, Kalarien smiled for a moment, then looked down to the dirt pathway. "My naneth owns a clothing cleaning business. She cleans and presses outfits during the day, then I help her to deliver them to their owners in the evenings after school."

"You must have had quite a few deliveries then, to be out so late into the night." Rumil pressed, hoping to get more information.

"No, I finished my deliveries a while ago. When I was done though…" She trailed off, before glancing over to look at him. "Well, I came to visit you."

He blinked, surprised that she would come to visit with him. No one he knew from school had seen fit to visit him in nearly a year. He felt a small tug at his heartstrings from her admission because she had proven something to him that he had been struggling with for quite a while now.

Someone had noticed he was gone.

Someone cared that he was not at school.

Kalarien's grey eyes strayed back to the path and seemed suddenly interested in the dirt. "When I arrived though, you were…having a private moment, so I chose not to announce myself."

Rumil felt his face flush a little, remembering how he had been speaking to his ada openly and freely on the platform. She had heard that? What must she think of him having heard that?

Kalarien stopped suddenly and turned to him. "There is no need to be embarrassed. I understand wanting to feel close to your family. I do apologize though, for if I had known, I would have chosen a different night to call."

Now it was Rumil's turn to look down, for he could not help but feel embarrassed that she had overheard something so personal. "You did not know," he replied quietly.

The two continued walking in silence, both feeling a bit awkward about what had just transpired between them. When they came to where the path divided, Rumil looked to Kalarien for guidance and she pointed to the path veering left. Both of them turned the corner in silence. A breeze hit them on the other side of the bend and Rumil watched as Kalarien's long, silvery tresses blew into her face. Rumil stopped and waited for her as she put the lantern on the ground and quickly used her fingers to comb the hairs out of her face, twist them, and put them back over her left shoulder.

Grabbing the flickering lantern at her feet, Kalarien finally broke the silence as they continued. "I noticed you have not been at school in a long time, so I thought I would come by your talan and make sure you were alright. Your friends have all missed you very much. I think they have only neglected coming to visit you because they do not know what to say now that you have suffered such a great loss."

"And you do?" Rumil questioned, still not quite understanding why this elleth he had not spoken to casually in years had felt the need to check on him. Something was simply not adding up.

With a sharp exhale, Kalarien immediately replied, "No. No, I do not know what to say either. However, I do not think it a good enough reason to avoid visiting." She paused for a moment, before cautiously adding, "It must be very lonely being at home so much with only a little brother for company."

A sadness fell over Rumil and he did not answer. Kalarien had somehow seen right through him and had known precisely how he felt. He did not know that he was so easily readable and was not happy that someone who hardly knew him had found out so many personal things about him tonight.

When Rumil glanced at Kalarien, he saw that she seemed to be weighing her next words very carefully. She must have known she had made him uncomfortable and was planning to proceed more tactfully.

"I thought… perhaps… I could be of some help to you, Rumil. Since you cannot come to school right now and we are both in similar places with our studies, I thought I might be able to bring you assignments from our teacher and help you study from home."

Well, that was a surprising proposal indeed. "Your offer is very kind, Kalarien. I fear it is not so simple though, as I must watch Orophin whenever Haldir is out guarding the wood. Studying does not usually go well for me because Orophin needs a lot of attention."

"Indeed, all elflings do. I am certain that between the two of us, we can help him find something to play with while we accomplish some schoolwork." She said, coming to a stop in front of a stairwell leading up to a darkened talan in a mallorn tree. "Perhaps you should think about it for a while and I can receive an answer when I next come to call."

Rumil smiled, confused but happy that Kalarien desired to visit with him again. "I will consider it." He said as he watched Kalarien gently begin to step up the talan stairway. "Please make sure to announce your presence next time. I do not want to miss your visit again."

Kalarien turned and smiled at him. "I will Rumil. Thank you for walking me home."

"Goodnight," he said back, watching as she turned back around and continued to ascend the stairs.

Why was her talan dark though? Had no one in her family waited up for her return?

Slightly puzzled at this, Rumil watched as she entered the dark talan, then silently turned back and headed for his own.

ooOoo

_Papa, how I love you._

_Papa, how I need you._

_Papa, how I miss you kissing me goodnight._

ooOoo

After agreeing on who would dispose of the orc corpses, Haldir finally was able to pull himself away from the wardens and start to head home. His brother Orophin was a silent weight in his arms, embracing him tightly, as if he would never let go of him again. One of the elfling's hands had wrapped itself tightly around a clump of his silver hair and his other had a death-grip on his neck.

Because of everything that had happened tonight, Haldir was rather certain that he would prefer to continue holding Orophin as well. Never in his life had he experienced panic to that degree. As annoyed as he had been with his brother constantly touching him earlier, he knew he absolutely could not stand the thought of something bad happening to him.

" _This must be what it feels like to be an adar_ ," he thought to himself as he followed the pathway into a courtyard that was near his talan. He wondered how many close calls his father had retrieved him from when he was Orophin's age. _"Probably too many to count."_

Haldir listened to the sound of his brother breathing close to his ear, reassuring himself that he was probably going to be alright. Orophin had been unable to tell him if he was hurt earlier, as he had been terribly shocked with the night's happenings. However, Haldir had not seen any signs of blood or broken bones when he had looked him over, so he was not overly worried about his physical state. It was his emotional state that had Haldir very worried. Never had he witnessed Orophin being so quiet before and he was very concerned about how fear was affecting him.

Haldir desperately wanted to know what had happened and why his youngest brother had been wandering in the woods at night, but he also knew this was not the correct time to ask him. Instead, he would allow his brother the comfort of silence and the holding of his hair. Haldir was certain he would find out what had caused this mess soon enough.

Walking up the stairs to his talan, Haldir's eyes widened as he saw the talan door had not been properly closed and was swinging back and forth in the breeze. He quickly entered the door, making certain to close it properly this time, and then lit a couple of the lamps around the room. He made a quick assessment of the area and found the floor to be exceedingly dirty, with clumps of mud everywhere. He also noticed that his mother's painting was out of its frame and leaning clumsily up against the wall to which it was once adhered.

Quickly, he walked over to examine what had happened to the painting. He grabbed the painting with his one free hand and set it on the dinner table to check it for damage when he heard the tiniest of whimpers. Orophin was now looking down at the painting as well with tears rolling down his face.

Haldir gently set his brother on the ground and the two met eyes. "Orophin, is there something you would like to talk to me about?"

Sobs exploded from the elfling's body as he started to speak. "I broke naneth's painting. I…I was arguing with Rumil over who was going to wash the dishes and I did not give him the dish when he asked me to. He tried to grab it from me, but I fought him and the dish hit naneth's painting and broke it!" He said, stopping only to shake his head in sentimental pain before starting again in a louder voice.

"Then, you did not come and tuck me in, so I thought you were mad at me. I was worried you were never going to come back and I went to look for you at the training grounds because I wanted to apologize, but I got lost!" He cried, breathing raggedly with distress.

Haldir reeled a little inwardly, now knowing the depth of his youngest brother's insecurity. To Orophin, Haldir's opinion of him mattered greatly. In a sense, this made Haldir the cause of this incident. Haldir had created this fear within his brother by avoiding his family for so long.

Haldir felt uncomfortable and was uncertain of how to handle the situation. Gingerly setting one hand on Orophin's shoulder and using the other to wipe a stray tear from his brother's face, Haldir cautiously said, "Orophin, everything is going to be okay."

"I do not want you to be mad at me, Haldir. I do not want you to leave me again." He cried with a high-pitched voice. Then he paused while wiping a few tears from his face, which inadvertently created a large mud smear across his facial features. He then looked at Haldir with intense eyes and whispered, "I missed you so much while you were gone. Please do not leave me again."

Overcome with despair and remorse, Haldir scooped the elfling into his arms and held him tightly while he cried. "I am not going to leave you again. Not like that." He said, his voice sounding roughly emotional while Orophin continued to sob into his shoulder. After a few minutes, the crying gave way to silence. Haldir rubbed his brother's back, trying to offer comfort in a way he had seen his naneth do many times during her life.

Haldir let go of Orophin and knelt down in front of him so he could speak to him while at his level. "Brother, I will have to go to the fences to be a warden. I cannot be here every day. However, I will never again purposefully stay away from you the way I did last year. That was a mistake and I am sorry I hurt you because of it."

"Why did you stay away? Did you stop loving me and Rumil?" Orophin asked with a high voice, looking down at the floor with a sullen gaze.

"No, of course not." Haldir immediately countered. It pained him to see his brother this way. He thought for a moment about how he could explain what had happened to an elfling Orophin's age before continuing. "I was… hurting… from ada and naneth's deaths. The pain was so great that I-I did not want to be around anyone. No good came from it though. Instead, I hurt you and Rumil by avoiding you for so long. It was selfish of me to stay away when both of you needed me. For that… I am sorry." He admitted slowly.

"It's okay Haldir. It hurts me to think about it too." Orophin admitted softly. "I thought for a second that it was ada who had rescued me tonight. When I saw it was you, my heart hurt because I remembered he cannot ever come back."

Haldir bowed his head and closed his eyes upon hearing this. It was like taking a dagger to his chest to find out how deeply Orophin was suffering. The elfling was able to laugh and play and go about his day normally most days, which is why his suffering had not been apparent to him straightaway. Just like Haldir and Rumil, the pain of loss lurked under the surface of Orophin's exterior too.

It would not be easily parted with.

"I'm sorry Orophin. I wish I knew how to help you and Rumil deal with this situation better. None of us expected this to ever happen and I fear that none of us know how to get through the aftermath." Haldir said, stumbling a little over his words because he was unused to revealing his own insecurities.

"Haldir, how brave was ada? Do you think I am brave like him?" Orophin asked him, changing the topic very suddenly looking up to him with curious eyes.

"Ada was the bravest ellon I have ever known." Haldir said with pride while imagining Maegkheled's strong stance on the fences in his mind. "And yes, I do think you are brave like him. I am proud of you for defending yourself against that orc tonight. I saw you throw your knife; it flew straight and true, hitting its mark with accuracy. I do believe you have a talent for throwing knives, Orophin. Ada did as well. You are going to be a lot like him, I daresay."

"You really think so?" Orophin asked, beaming with pride at the lovely compliment he had received.

"I know so, young one." Haldir said with a smile. He could already see how much Orophin would resemble Maegkheled in his facial features. He was gladdened by the resemblances and hoped they would help him to remember his adar accurately over time.

"That is what the shining elleth in the white dress told me too." Orophin chimed in, which quickly drew Haldir away from his reminiscing and back into their conversation. When asked, Orophin explained how the 'shining elleth' had come to him in a vision and reminded him of the throwing knife.

"You were visited by Lady Galadriel, Orophin. She and her husband Celeborn are the keepers of Lothlorien. It seems that we will need to visit and thank them as well for helping you while you were in the woods." Haldir said, slightly in awe of the Lady's kindness and full belief in the abilities of his youngest brother. He was so grateful for all she and the other elleth had done to assist them tonight.

When Haldir looked down, he found that Orophin appeared to be deep in thought. He cocked his eyebrow up at him questioningly when he finally looked up. "You really do still love us?" He asked timidly.

"I will always love you both. Nothing will ever change that." Haldir said solemnly.

"Not even breaking naneth's picture?" Orophin asked quietly.

"Not even that." He replied. "Besides, it is not even broken. It just needs a new frame."

Orophin hugged Haldir again, then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love you Haldir. I am glad you are here with me now."

"I love you too," Haldir said as he stood up slowly.

ooOoo

After spending a long time sweeping and then assisting his brother with a bath, Haldir found himself laying on the edge of Orophin's bed once again with the little elfling huddled up against his body for protection. He was still uncomfortable with this cuddling, but at least his brother was unharmed and safely back in the talan for the night.

Haldir also felt confident that Orophin would remain safe and out of the woods, as they had talked about how dangerous his 'adventure' was while sweeping up the mud that had been strewn throughout the house. While holding the dustpan for Haldir, Orophin had promised not to go into the woods again at night and Haldir believed he had meant it. Knowing that Orophin was aware of the danger he had been in earlier tonight put Haldir's mind at ease. He trusted his youngest brother to make the right choice from now on.

Haldir's thoughts next drifted to the situation that had arose tonight and wondered what would happen because of it. A horrible mistake had occurred tonight for the two orcs to get so far into the golden wood. Never in Haldir's millennium of service to the Galadhrim had he witnessed such an unsafe situation occur so close to the city Caras Galadhon. However, he and the other wardens had not found it difficult to trace the problem to its source.

It was common knowledge that the current marchwarden, Annondel, had started to hear the sea years ago and was starting to fade because he had not left for Valinor yet. This is why he and many others had risen to the occasion, training hard to get a chance to replace him so that he could retire and set sail.

Annondel had started making small mistakes at the fences a couple of years ago. Wardens were sometimes placed in posts where they did not have the appropriate skills to carry out their jobs. Other posts were found to be lacking in numbers during watches. This, however, was a much larger error and could have proven fatal to his brother, the elleth on the path, or any other unfortunate passerby.

Haldir knew Lady Galadriel and Celeborn would not allow for another mistake of this scale to occur in their realm. After all, they bore responsibility for all who were in the Lothlorien. He had already heard from the other wardens that a city meeting had been called for early tomorrow morning to address the issue and that Annondel had been called back from the fences to address his oversight.

Haldir wondered what this would mean for himself and the other wardens who desired the title of marchwarden. He had previously thought he had plenty of time to prepare for the various tests he would endure to try and claim the title, but now he was less than certain.

"Haldir, who was the elleth with Rumil tonight?" A small voice asked from behind him. This came along with a finger that poked into his ribs to ensure that he was paying attention. "The one you said was trying to help me on the path?"

Haldir carefully flipped onto his back so he could see Orophin, gently pressing the elfling further over in the tiny bed before replying. "I do not know her and I forgot to ask for her name. Rumil seems to know her though, perhaps from school? Maybe he can tell us a little more about her later."

"It was nice of her to try and help me. I would like to thank her sometime. Do you think she would like a daisy chain if I made her one? I think I should make one for both her and Lady Galadriel for helping me." Orophin said, sitting up so that he could see the reaction on Haldir's face to his query.

Smiling, Haldir pushed a small tress of wild silver hair out of Orophin's face, then answered, "Yes, I imagine they both might enjoy that."

"Will you help me make them? I do not know how." He said with a hopeful glance.

"I can try to help, although I do not have much knowledge on crafting daisy chains. Perhaps Rumil will help us tom-"

"Rumil will help you with what?" A soft voice said as the doorway to Orophin's room swung open to reveal the elf they had both been waiting on to arrive home. Immediately, Orophin flung the blanket off himself and ran up to Rumil, who opened his arms and lifted his brother up in a large hug. Letting out a small chuckle, he asked the young elfling, "Why are you not asleep, young warden?"

"We were waiting up for you!" Orophin cried with joy, hugging Rumil. He then giggled as Rumil spun him around before he gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Orophin then looked slightly ashamed and quietly said, "Rumil, I am sorry about disobeying you earlier. I will remember to mind you in the future when Haldir is away."

Rumil smiled at Orophin and said, "All is forgiven, young one. I am sorry for not being as patient with you as I should have been while we were doing the dishes. Now, what is it that you require help with tomorrow?"

"Do you know how to make a daisy chain?"

Rumil walked Orophin back over to his bed as he replied. "A daisy chain, you say? You have come to the right place brother. I am an expert at daisy chains and would be happy to assist you in crafting the perfect one. May I ask who the recipient will be?" He asked as he tucked Orophin back into bed before sitting beside him on top of the covers.

"We will make two: one for Lady Galadriel and one for the pretty elleth who tried to help me tonight. Do you know what her name is Rumil?" Orophin asked excitedly, clearly not ready to go to sleep just yet.

"Her name is Kalarien." He said, suddenly feeling inexplicably sad. "She was in my study group when I was going to school."

"And what was Kalarien doing out so late on her own?" Haldir asked, suddenly butting into the conversation with a much more serious tone. The warden in him had worried for her safety too while they were out.

"She was delivering clean clothing from her naneth's laundry service." Rumil started, uncertain of how much information he wanted to give his eldest brother on the topic of Kalarien. Tentatively, he decided to continue. "She also stopped by our talan to ask me if I wanted her to bring my school assignments here so I could work from home."

"That is considerate of her." Haldir remarked casually, with unmasked curiosity.

"Yes, it is." Rumil agreed quietly. "Do you think such an arrangement might work to help me finish my schooling?" He asked as he leaned back into the bed, making it groan under the pressure of a third occupant. He ruffled Orophin's hair with a gentle fondness while he awaited Haldir's answer.

"Perhaps for a while it would, assuming Kalarien is responsible enough to keep her word. Is this what you desire?" Haldir asked, studying Rumil's expression to try and figure out his true thoughts on the matter. Because Rumil often kept his thoughts private from Haldir, it was often hard to tell whether or not he liked an idea.

"The arrangement would be temporary; I think I will be going to speak with the lower levels teacher soon for Orophin, as he is almost of a schooling age now. When he begins to attend classes, you will be able to return to your own classes as well."

"School? Me?" Orophin asked excitedly, still writhing with seemingly endless energy. "That sounds like fun!"

Haldir watched Rumil carefully as he stared down at his feet. A small smile appeared on his face. "I would like that Haldir. Is it okay if Kalarien helps me study here too? She also offered to be my study partner."

"You may, so long as there are no… shenanigans." Haldir replied carefully, knowing full well that Rumil's mind had been straying lustfully to a variety of beautiful ellyth recently. This was a coming of age problem for many ellyn Rumil's age, but Haldir felt it necessary to ensure that Rumil was acting with propriety at all times.

Rumil must have known what he was implying because he blushed, his ears and cheeks turning the palest of pinks. "She is just an acquaintance… a friend from school. That will not be a problem."

"Very well then." Haldir replied, feeling slightly apprehensive of his reaction, but still willing to extend his trust to his brother. Though he seemed to hide it much better than his younger brother, Rumil also needed his approval and trust. It made sense though, as these were things both brothers had previously gotten from their parents. Now Haldir was the closest thing to a parent they had and would have to learn to meet their needs.

"In a way, I am both their brother and their adar now." He thought to himself.

It was then that Haldir recognized the change that had recently happened within himself. The necessity of taking charge of his family had bothered him for the last year, but now it did not seem nearly as daunting as it had even a week ago. He was duty bound to serve them, just as he served the city as a warden. He was now ready to be brave and rise to the occasion. It was what he was born to do…

Lead.

Maegkheled had been strong and had put his own selfish desires aside to lead his family. Now it was Haldir's turn. He had been so selfish this past year, only caring about his own pain and suffering. He still did not know how he would lead them, but Haldir was not unfamiliar with sacrifice. He would try his best to be everything his brothers needed in this life.

 _"I will do my best, ada. I will not let you down."_ He thought to himself, vowing his devotion to the stars above him. He gazed at them longingly through the skylight and wondered if his ada trusted in him to care for his brothers. He wondered if he knew that Haldir would grow to feel a great responsibility towards them.

Noticing that no one had spoken in a while, Haldir glanced over to see that both Rumil and Orophin were both sleeping soundly. He thought they both looked peaceful in their slumber.

With a small smile on his face, Haldir's thoughts drifted to that special day when the brothers would be reunited with Maegkheled and Teluial in Valinor. A tear came to Haldir's eyes as he thought of how they would rejoice in seeing each other after so long.

He would prove to his parents that his brothers were in good hands while they were gone. He would do his best to raise them to be every bit as respectful, intelligent, and brave as they would have desired. In his heart, Haldir promised them he would not let them down.

And indeed, he did not.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue is still to come! Thanks for reading!


	4. Epilogue: A Grave Moment

_Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises. I also do not own the song Papa, Can You Hear Me? by Charlotte Church._

Note: In this fic, I have made 50 the age that elves arrive at their majority. This makes Rumil about the equivalent of a 17 year old by human standards and Orophin around five or six by human standards, though he is rather smart for his age, even by the standards of the Eldar.

ooOoo

**Papa, Can You Hear Me?**

_By: Ponytail Goddess_

Epilogue: A Grave Moment

Rumil smiled, stepping out from under a large mallorn tree as he walked down one of Lorien's pathways. A ray of sunlight peeked out from behind the clouds and hit his face momentarily, before being covered by the clouds again. He frowned because he enjoyed when the sun was shining. However, today the sun and clouds had been sharing the sky equally and there had been many moments where the sky was overcast. _"I suppose this will make me appreciate the sun all the more when it is back."_ He thought to himself as he went along.

He glanced ahead to watch as his brothers both sprinted away from him on the path, Orophin racing Haldir with all of his might, trying to reach the field before him. Rumil chuckled a little to himself as he saw Haldir struggling to run slowly and keep pace with the elfling. He could hear Orophin's joyous shouts in the distance, unmistakably appreciating the attention he was getting from his oldest brother.

The young one had been showered with attention this morning. The three brothers had made the daisy chains Orophin requested first thing in the morning, then immediately went to deliver one to the Lady Galadriel, who had accepted it gracefully along with their thanks. She had enjoyed Orophin's unending chatter and had spoken fondly of the days when her daughter Celebrian had been his age.

Orophin was still wearing the second daisy chain, which was meant for Kalarien. After the brothers returned from their current destination, they would stop by her talan and deliver Orophin's present.

Rumil's demeanor saddened as he thought about where they were headed. He had been to visit his ada and naneth's grave many times on his own, but never with his brothers. Rumil tended to get emotional when he was there and felt slightly insecure about having his brothers see him in that state.

He was also worried about Haldir visiting the grave because he knew he had not been there yet. Though Haldir had made some positive changes over the last couple of weeks, he was uncertain of whether or not they would hold under the great pressure of training for the marchwarden position.

The pressure was now increased for Haldir, as he had been called away early in the morning to meet with Annondel and the other wardens who were training to potentially take over for him. The tests, which had originally been scheduled for two years from now, were being moved up to next week because of the orc incident the night before. Annondel needed to sail, and soon. No more risks could be taken with the occupants of Lothlorien.

Rumil had seen the anxiety in Haldir's eyes when he had relayed the news to him and Orophin while they made the daisy chains. He had downplayed the significance of the situation, not wanting to incite worry in his youngest brother. Rumil was smart enough to read between the lines though and knew that Haldir did not think he was well enough prepared to assume the post.

Would his brother ignore them and shut himself away at the training grounds for the remainder of the week? Rumil knew he could deal with such a situation, but he doubted that Orophin could. The elfling seemed to be in good enough spirits this morning; nevertheless, Rumil was certain last night's debacle would leave a mark on the young elfling. Now that Rumil had heard the story in its entirety, he knew that without Galadriel and Kalarien's help, the brothers would not have found him in time.

The situation could have been so much worse. Rumil was incredibly thankful for the help the ellyth had given them last night. Once again, he found himself silently praying his thanks to the Valar for their help in the situation.

His prayers were interrupted though by the sound of a flute coming from the forest. Rumil was not sure where the sound was coming from at first, but then spotted a small, unmarked path that led into the woods. Curious, he ducked under some low-hanging tree branches to follow the path. A dozen steps ahead of him, he saw none other than Kalarien sitting on a log in a small clearing amongst the trees.

A small wooden flute was raised up to her lips and her body moved to the beat of the slow song she was playing. Looking at her face, it was obvious that she was feeling the emotion of the song she was playing. Her eyes were closed and her hair was twisted over her shoulder, as it always was. A small ray of sunlight shined down through the foliage and onto her face, lighting up her creamy white skin. She was dressed in a flattering pale yellow gown with see-through sleeves that clung tightly to her tiny arms. The bodice of her dress was embroidered with shiny silver thread in a delicate floral pattern.

 _"She is beautiful."_ Rumil thought to himself, then blushed as he realized it was his friend Kalarien he was thinking about. _"She is just a friend, Rumil. No more."_ He mentally reassured himself as he walked quietly over to where she was playing.

As he listened to her play, he started to recognize the melody. It was a lament, slow and sorrowful, one he had heard before playing in Caras Galadhon.

One he had heard after his parents had passed away.

A single tear fell down his cheek as he sat down silently on the opposite side of the log, listening to her finish her song. With one last remorseful, drawn out sound, the tune stopped and Kalarien slowly lowered her flute from her lips and onto her lap in silence as both elves savored the moment and the feeling of beauty the music had created.

Kalarien sat there silently with her eyes closed for a minute more, then slowly turned her head towards him. He noticed she had two sprigs of bluebell flowers tucked behind her far ear. "Rumil," she said softly, "What a nice surprise to see you today."

Rumil noticed there was a sadness surrounding her, even though she smiled sweetly at him. "Your song has touched my heart with its beauty, Kalarien. I did not know you were a musician." Rumil said softly, still filled with emotion from the performance.

"That is very kind of you to say. I have enjoyed music since… since I was an elfling." She said, stumbling a bit with her words. "Music has long been an outlet for my emotions. I enjoy it very much."

Rumil smiled back at her. "Do you often come out here to play?" He asked, indicating the clearing with one of his hands

"Oh yes, it is one of my favorite places in Lothlorien." Kalarien said with admiration in her voice. She pointed to the sky in the middle of the clearing and said, "When sunlight streams through the opening in the trees, this area becomes most picturesque. I often find that being somewhere so scenic inspires my best playing."

The sun was not currently shining through the clearing, but Rumil had seen it earlier when it was shining upon her and knew her statements to be true. It was indeed a magical place.

"How is young Orophin faring? He was not injured from the orc encounter last night, was he?" Kalarien asked, changing the topic as she set about cleaning the condensation out of her flute with a thin cloth draped over a smooth wooden rod.

"He seems to be fine today and he did not sustain any injuries from his brush with the orcs. I was very worried about him last night, but he seems to be quite resilient. Today he has been bragging about how he hit one of the orcs with a small throwing knife Haldir gave him. Now that he has shown an early talent for utilizing weaponry, he will probably desire to one day become a warden." He said, trying to picture his youngest brother as an adult in a warden uniform. He imagined he would look a lot like Haldir and his ada when dressed in the familiar attire.

"That is good news; there can never be too many talented wardens protecting these lands. I admire all who seek to protect and serve our lands." Kalarien said with a small nod to him. He wondered if she knew he was training to be a warden too, just like his adar and brother.

"Rumil!" A voice called out loudly. "There you are! Haldir, I found him!"

Turning around on the log, Rumil was at once greeted by his youngest brother, who was running down the path towards them. His long silver hair blew behind him as he ran, then flopped into his face as he came to a stop in front of the older elves. He quickly blew it out of his face before unceremoniously plopping himself into a sitting position on Rumil's lap.

Haldir slowly caught up to the group, staying on his feet when he reached the log. He was silent as he inspected the scene on the log, stopping to give Kalarien a nod as his eyes landed on her. He did not have any time to speak though, as Orophin once again took center stage.

"Are you Kalarien? The elleth who helped try to find me while I was lost last night?" He asked excitedly. Orophin loved talking to anyone and was undoubtedly eager to make a new acquaintance.

"Yes, that is me." Kalarien replied with a large smile, visibly amused by the young one's antics. "Your brother was just telling me that you were back to your normal self today. I am glad you were not injured and that you are feeling better now."

"Me too, I am glad you were there to help my brothers find me. I wanted to thank you for helping them, so I made you this." He exclaimed with enthusiasm, taking the daisy chain off of his neck and proudly presenting it to her.

At this point, some of the daisies looked like they had seen better days. Kalarien did not seem to notice though. She scooted closer to Rumil and Orophin on the log and politely lowered her head to allow Orophin to put the necklace on her. He beamed with pride once it was around her neck.

"What a lovely present, Orophin. Thank you for thinking of me." Kalarien said, smiling at the young one pleasantly as she adjusted her hair so that it was not trapped inside of the daisy chain.

"You are welcome, Kalarien! I think the daisies make you look extra pretty!" He declared with sincerity, then quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek and took off running and giggling around the small clearing with unending energy.

"Oh my, you have quite the charmer on your hands." Kalarien said, putting one hand up to her lips with a laugh after noticing how Haldir's eyebrows were lifted in surprise.

"Yes, it appears to be that way." Haldir said slowly, shaking his head at his youngest brother's behavior. "Thank you for being so kind to him. He really is thankful for what you did, as am I."

"You are welcome." Kalarien replied, standing up as she packed her flute away in a small, cloth case. "I am afraid I must take my leave now. It was a lovely surprise to see all of you. I hope our paths will cross again sometime soon."

Receiving a nod from both Rumil and Haldir, Kalarien began to slowly walk down the unmarked path that led back to the main pathway. "Let me fetch Orophin and then we will be on our way." Haldir stated, then ran after the crazed elfing who was now halfway up a tree.

After a moment elapsed, Rumil remembered their conversation from the previous night and called out, "Kalarien! Wait!" She turned when she heard his call and he jogged up to her quickly. "Are you still willing to bring my schoolwork to me and help me study?"

"Of course," Kalarien replied with a smile, "Shall I bring it by tomorrow afternoon?"

"That would be perfect. Thank you for helping me." Rumil said, still slightly apprehensive about the lengths Kalarien seemed to be willing to go through on his account. He was grateful though to have this chance to try and catch up on his studies, which he had missed a lot over the past year.

Not knowing what else to say, Rumil walked beside Kalarien on the unmarked path, quickly stepping ahead of her to lift the low-hanging tree branches out of her way as she stepped onto the marked path. She nodded her thanks to him as she faced him on the path. "I am going back to the city now to help my naneth with the daily laundry. Where are you headed?" She asked him, her eyes piercing into his own, as if trying to figure him out somehow.

Rumil did not want to say it out loud for fear of becoming emotional, so he simply pointed the opposite direction on the path. Everyone knew what was down there anyway. There were few reasons to go down this pathway unless you were headed to the burial grounds.

Kalarien caught onto his implication quickly. "Ah, I see. Here," she said, taking the two sprigs of bluebells out from behind her ear and holding them out to Rumil, "something to take with you and lay on the gravesite."

The bluebells were beautiful and large, freshly cut from a flourishing plant. Rumil carefully took them out of Kalarien's hand and held them carefully in his own. He nodded his thanks and then, despite his best efforts, found himself overcome with emotion as he thought about his destination.

Looking down, Rumil tried unsuccessfully to hide his sorrow from Kalarien. He felt the gentlest touch on his shoulder and looked over to see her standing close to him with a caring look in her eyes that spoke to him deeply. She held her hand there for several seconds, then gave him a gentle squeeze of encouragement before letting go.

Silence reigned, even as the moment ended. After a quickly whispered farewell, Kalarien turned around and started walking towards the city. Rumil stood silently as he watched her depart, a few tears falling down his face.

After a few more minutes, he heard the trees by the unmarked path rustling and his brothers both popped out from under them, Haldir ducking down to avoid getting a face full of leaves. Quickly wiping his tears away, Rumil joined them.

While Orophin had noticed nothing and was babbling on about his enjoyment of the clearing, Rumil saw that Haldir was studying him very closely and could probably tell that there was a change in his disposition. He chose to ignore his brother's stare though and continued walking in silence.

This time, no one ran as they approached the field. Orophin's chatter even stopped as the burial grounds came into view, just on the other side of the field. The young one's hand quickly found its way into Rumil's and he held it tightly, aware of the emotions that were surely coursing through his little brother.

At first glance, one would think the burial grounds were simply another part of the forest, for there were many mellyrn in the area. However, upon close inspection, one could see that the trees were planted in even rows, unlike in the majority of the forest where their growth pattern was natural and unplanned. Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel had personally planted one tree for each elf that was laid to rest in the forest. In front of each tree rested a flat, stone marker with the elf's name on it.

"This way," Rumil said, leading them to the familiar place where Teluial and Maegkheled rested. They quietly walked away from the larger mellyrn to some much smaller ones that had been planted more recently.

Rumil stopped in front of the two smallest mellyrn. They were planted right next to each other and metal twine was being used to pull the two saplings around each other, training them to grow up connected with one another. This served as a symbol of the closeness of their parents and how their spirits had bonded closely, to the point of mutual death.

A glossy, black marble marker was lying flat on the ground, engraved with their parent's names. In front of the marker was a large patch of white flowers, growing over where the bodies had been laid to rest.

"Here we are," Rumil said softly as they stopped in front of the grave. Rumil carefully walked forward with the bluebells he had gotten from Kalarien and placed one sprig on each side of the marker. Afterwards, he stepped back beside his brothers, then sat down gingerly on the ground. Orophin immediately sat in his lap with his pointer finger deep within his mouth, staring at the unfamiliar sight before him. After a few minutes, Rumil heard Haldir sit down as well.

Rumil found himself examining Haldir as he gazed at the graves for the first time. He looked calm, a little too calm, as if he was working really hard to maintain a façade for the sake of his brothers. Rumil felt a little sad that Haldir did not feel as though he could confide in either of them. Was there anyone in Haldir's life he could trust with his true feelings? Surely he too required a friend in times of need. Who would be there for him when his world fell in?

As far as Rumil knew, Haldir did not seem to keep much company with other elves. He saw him banter playfully sometimes with other wardens and train with them, but was uncertain of whether they spoke of more important matters together. The only person Rumil felt confident that Haldir had confided in was Nimphredil, who had turned down his proposal last year, leaving him even more lonely and broken up than he had already been from his parents' deaths.

He wondered if his brother would ever trust anyone again.

Uncertain of how he would react, Rumil timidly placed his hand on Haldir's shoulder and left it there, hoping he could at least offer his brother some small bit of comfort in this sorrowful moment. Haldir closed his eyes and inhaled sharply when the hand initially made contact with him, but did nothing to shoo it away. To Rumil, this meant it must have been appreciated.

"Haldir, will you tell me about the place where ada and naneth went again?" Orophin asked quietly, sitting hunched over with his head leaned on his two fists.

"When they died, their spirits left their bodies. Their bodies are here, under the earth." Haldir said, meeting Orophin's gaze while using his hand to indicate the flowery area in front of them.

"However, their spirits have departed this world to rest in the Halls of Mandos, who is one of the Valar. There, he provides them with comfort and rest from all of the stresses they were forced to endure while here. After many years, once they have been thoroughly healed, he will give them a new body that looks the same as we remember. They will then spend the remainder of their days living in Valinor. We will eventually sail there to live with them too." Haldir explained gently to the elfling who listened to the story attentively.

"So, we will see them again someday?" Orophin asked, this time looking up at Rumil's face from his spot on his lap. There was a great deal of hope in Orophin's eyes, showing Rumil how much he missed his parents and yearned for the days of old to return.

"Of course." Rumil answered, ruffling the young one's hair. "It will be a long time before we tire of this world and set sail, but when we do, I imagine they will be waiting to see us and hear about all of our grand adventures from here."

Orophin smiled, some of his previous energy visibly returning. "I cannot wait to have adventures! I am certain ada will approve of all the fun things we do!"

"Indeed, I am sure he will." Haldir said softly.

This was the point where Rumil found himself misty-eyed. All of their talk about ada had saddened him. He hardly imagined that he could miss anyone more than his ada or his naneth. They had both been so supportive of him over the years. Oftentimes, he felt terribly lost without them and, unlike Orophin, he truly grasped how long it would be before they were once again together.

Orophin must have felt him start to cry because he turned around in his lap and wrapped Rumil up in a big hug. "Its okay brother," he said quietly while grabbing and holding a small section of Rumil's hair. "I miss them too."

"As do I." Haldir's voice said softly, filled with emotion. Rumil stared at Haldir's admission, surprised he had chosen to be open with him and supportive. The last time he cried in front of Haldir, he had received a string of insults and an argument had ensued.

Perhaps Haldir was going to change after all.

Was it truly possible that they were really going to be a family again, just the three of them? Rumil did not want to get his hopes up for nothing, but was being pleasantly surprised at Haldir's actions. A small part of him was really starting to believe that maybe everything would somehow turn out okay.

Silently, he said a prayer to the Valar, thanking them for Haldir's transformation and asking them to bless his family and keep them close to one another. There was nothing Rumil wanted more than to have his family feel close and united again.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that Haldir had stood up and was inspecting the marker and the flowers beside it closely. "This is beautiful, as I had hoped it would be." He said, though Rumil was uncertain of whom he was talking to. "I am glad we came here today. Come Orophin, it is time that we head to the training grounds to work on our knife skills."

Orophin carefully climbed out of Rumil's lap and grabbed Haldir's outstretched hand, then walked quietly beside him, swinging his and Haldir's hands back and forth lightly. Rumil got up and followed behind the two for a moment, then stopped when something caught the corner of his eye.

"Excuse me for a moment," he said, walking away from them to a grave that had caught his eye, just one row over from where they stood. When he wandered over to it and read the marker, he felt himself freeze over with anguish. He stood there, staring at it as his heart broke over this new discovery.

After a few minutes, he heard the soft steps of his brothers following him over to the grave. "Rumil, what is wrong?" Orophin asked him quietly, sounding concerned. He grabbed his hand and pulled at it a little when he did not immediately receive a response.

The words were stuck inside of Rumil's mouth though. All he could manage to do was point as a tear rolled down his face.

"Oh no…" Haldir murmered, sighing with despair as he took read the marker and deciphered its significance. He put a strong hand on Rumil's shoulder and grasped it firmly. "I am sorry Rumil."

Resting in front of the three brothers was a mallorn that looked to be 20 years older than the one at their parent's grave. Nestled amongst a thick patch of hearty bluebells was another black marbled marker. It read:

_Taurfalas, loving husband of Annaril, doting father to Kalarien._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've left this a little open-ended, but I am planning to write a sequel to it, which will be titled "A Warden's Heart." This epilogue is meant to lead into it. I am hoping to work on it during summer 2021.
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read "Papa, Can You Hear Me." We authors love to hear from our story's fans, so if you enjoyed this, please let me know by reviewing. Thanks again for supporting my writing!
> 
> -P.G.


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